CompuServe Thread

#Skin.axp

6 messages in this thread
#85216From: M. G. BATCHELORFeb 20, 1994 4:43 PM
Hi Gary, Here I go again with a barrage of questions w/r/t to your skin.axp. However, unlike my last barrage of questions, I believe these can be generally yes/no type of answers thus not imposing on your time too much. I can only imagine how busy you must be. Hopefully these are intelligent questions which may be of interest to others as well. If you don't mind, here goes: 1) It appears from your Skinning.gif that the .axp takes cross-sections or 3D definitions in their CONTROL HULL form, which I assume are created conventionally in the 2D Shaper & Lofter, etc.. Q. Is there any provision for creating or displaying them in their true curve form before creating the patch ? (If not, please consider) 2) By any chance were all the various elements all skinned in one pass ? 3) Were the Ortho Sweep type objects (e.g.-horns) concatenated with the CS – Swept object (body) ? I don't think so here, but can they be ? 4) If a non-patch object was heirarchially attatched to a DEFORMING (as opposed to TRANSFORMING) patch object, would it still maintain proper position and orientation as well ? 5) Is there a provision to reparameterize / remap the patch up or down once it's created ? (If not, please strongly consider) 6) Once the patch object(s) is constructed, can it be "seen" & manipulated with conventional Bend, Taper, Squash, etc.. or are new functions coming ? 7) The Skinning.fli APPEARS to be parametrically rendered, although I doubt it for various reasons – therefore I ASSUME conversion to a zillion polys at render time. Q. Is this true, and if so, can I assume traditionally long render times for a zillion polys ? The examples look great, I can't wait, and thank you very much if you can find time to answer these questions. Regards, Bill – MEDIA MAGIC p.s. – For my sake anyway, you can just respond with -> 1) – Yes/No, 2) – Yes/ No, etc.. to save time and effort. THANKS
#85298From: Yost GroupFeb 21, 1994 12:30 AM
Answers: 1) It appears from your Skinning.gif that the .axp takes cross-sections or 3D definitions in their CONTROL HULL form, which I assume are created conventionally in the 2D Shaper & Lofter, etc.. GY: Actually, we're working on a PXP that derives mesh-based cross-sections from lofted models, because that's the data structure you need to use in the keyframer. Q. Is there any provision for creating or displaying them in their true curve form before creating the patch ? GY: Nope. Just cross-sections before render-time. 2) By any chance were all the various elements all skinned in one pass ? GY: They were all skinned at once by five instances of skin.axp. 1 on the body, 2 on the horns, and 2 on the fangs. 3) Were the Ortho Sweep type objects (e.g.-horns) concatenated with the CS – Swept object (body) ? I don't think so here, but can they be ? GY: They were just part of the hiearchy. 4) If a non-patch object was heirarchially attatched to a DEFORMING (as opposed to TRANSFORMING) patch object, would it still maintain proper position and orientation as well ? GY: Yup. 5) Is there a provision to reparameterize / remap the patch up or down once it's created ? (If not, please strongly consider) GY: You can change patch parameters at any time. 6) Once the patch object(s) is constructed, can it be "seen" & manipulated with conventional Bend, Taper, Squash, etc.. or are new functions coming ? GY: Sure they can. They're just mesh objects. 7) The Skinning.fli APPEARS to be parametrically rendered, although I doubt it for various reasons – therefore I ASSUME conversion to a zillion polys at render time. Q. Is this true, and if so, can I assume traditionally long render times for a zillion polys ? GY: Yup, like Alias, it makes triangles at render-time. Note that those frames took 4 minutes per frame on my 486/50 at 320×200. – G
#85365From: M. G. BATCHELORFeb 21, 1994 12:22 PM
Hi Gary, Thanks a lot for your time in answering these questions. I'm really lookingfoward to this routine. Am I correct in understanding that th
#85368From: M. G. BATCHELORFeb 21, 1994 12:25 PM
Hi Gary, Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond to my questions. I'm really looking foward to the release of this routine. Am I correct in understanding that this is to be a "surprise" bonus included in one of the 2 sets which you have described here ? Regards, Bill
#85432From: Yost GroupFeb 21, 1994 5:16 PM
It's just one of the routine's that'll be on Darrel and Jeff Anderson's set. – G
#85509From: M. G. BATCHELORFeb 21, 1994 10:47 PM
Hi Gary, Thanks for the IPAS & Demo Reel info. Bill